Plant Life

'Pink for friendship.  Red for passionate love.'

'Ah… let's stick with pink for now.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes.  I think so.'

It was not a grand job, but to her it was important.  Flowers meant so much.  Love, happiness, friendship, mourning…

'Lilies are traditional.'

'She wouldn't want lilies.  She loved sunflowers.  She was such a colourful person.  She told us not to wear black.'

'That's seventy pounds ninety, please.'

---

'Look at the pretty flowers.'

The little girl looked.  She soiled her hands and knees and was almost stung by a bee.

'What's that one called?'

'Bluebells.'

'What's that one called?'

'Primroses.'

She started to climb a tree.  'What kind of tree is this?'

'Oak.  Come down at once.'

'What's this one?'

'No!  Darling, come away from those, they're stinging nettles.'

'What's this one?'

'You know daisies.  They're weeds.'

---

They ate and drank and reached for the sun, soaking up its nourishment, fighting to reach its rays.  The weakest starved, or were trampled or eaten.  Some grew aggressively, with thorns and poisons and vile odours.  Animals lost their lives to them.  It was their world too.  Some ate meat.  They drew in their prey with their sweet scents and their captivating beauty.  The strongest survived, reproduced, evolved, prospered.